The Three Little Javelinas

Author: Susan Lowell
Illutrator: Jim Harris
Publisher and date of publication: Scholastic Inc. 1994
Genre: Picture Book, Folk Tale (multicultural)
Grade: K-4

Once upon a time there were three little javelinas. There were two brothers and one sister and they all lived in the southwestern desert. One day they decided to take different paths to seek their fortune. The first little javelina got caught and a whirlwind that blew him into a pile of tumbleweeds. He then decided to build a house with the tumbleweeds. Then along came a coyote with his magical tricks. The coyote called to the pig but he would not come out so, he huffed and puffed blew his tumbleweed house away. The javelina escape with the coyote following behind
The Second little javelina came upon a Native American woman who was gathering saguaro ribs or long sticks. The second little javelina asked for some to build a house with. The first little javelina soon arrived and together they stayed in the house made of saguaro ribs. The coyote then arrived and blew their house down. Meanwhile the third little javelina met a man making adobe bricks. She asked if she could have some to make her house with. The third little javelina built her house and soon her two brothers arrived to stay with her. The coyote had followed and threatened to blow the house down. When he tried nothing happened. He then tried crawling down the stove pipe but it lit him on fire and the coyote ran off screaming and the three little javelinas lived happily ever after.

What a magnificent story this was. I think that it is even better than the one I grew up listening to. This story just had so much more character behind it. The author did a magnificent job of incorporating the life and culture of Mexicans, Native Americans and others that live in the southwest. The book uses different languages, materials and environments of the southwest. The book was a great twist on a classic that we all know and love. Another aspect that I really liked was use of different animals. Instead of pink farm pigs the story was about the hairy, dirty wild hogs known as Javelinas that you can't help but fall in love with. Also, instead of a wolf the author used an animal that is native to the southwest, the coyote. The whole idea was just brilliant and I loved the story. Once again I have no idea what media the illustrator used to capture his images. However, they were so realistic. When he did pictures of the desert scenes they filled the whole page with that dry, humid feeling of the desert. It made you feel like you were walking along with the javelinas. He also did pictures with a lot of white space around them which put emphasis on what he was drawing. The white space around some of the pictures really brought out the story and essence of the illustrations. I soon learned that this illustrator lives in the desert in Colorado. So for him to be able to portray what he see everyday is what I think really brought the pictures to life.

There are so many educational opportunities with this book it is unbelievable. You can use it as an opener to begin learning about the southwest, its culture, people, environment and so much more. In the book there is talk about cactus, adobe bricks and how they are made, tumbleweeds and the hotness of the desert. There are some fun animals to explore and not to mention the use of two different languages. What a great way to being a lesson on the use of different languages in theses cultures. The lessons are not limited by any means. I would use this book in my classroom with out question and use all that it offers me as a teacher.

A neat website about Javelina's:

http://www.desertusa.com/magnov97/nov_pap/du_collpecc.html